O’Toole wins three-way race for Scituate selectman

Local business owner Martin O’Toole, 53, won a tight three-way race in Tuesday’s town election, taking the selectman seat formerly held by Joseph Norton, who chose not to seek re-election after 30 years on the board. O’Toole, a first-time selectman, defeated James Gilmore and Ann Burbine.

Local business owner Martin O’Toole has been elected to Scituate’s board of selectmen, winning a tight three-way race in Tuesday’s town election.

O’Toole, 53, defeated James Gilmore and Ann Burbine to replace longtime selectman Joseph Norton, who stepped down after 30 years on the board.

O’Toole, who runs Marty O'Toole & Sons Painting, received 1,515 votes, more than Gilmore’s 1,392 and Burbine’s 1,003. About 29 percent of Scituate voters turned out at the polls Tuesday to vote in the local election and in the special U.S. Senate primary election.

O'Toole joins a five-member board that also includes Anthony Vegnani, Shawn Harris, RIchard Murray and John Danehey. Danehey's seat was up for re-election this spring, but no one challenged him.

In Scituate, 897 voters backed Cohasset businessman Gabriel Gomez. Former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan of Abington received 609 votes, and state Rep. Dan Winslow of Norfolk got 83 votes. In the Democratic primary, Scituate backed U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch over U.S. Rep. Ed Markey by a 1,284-1,162 margin. Lynch started representing Scituate this year as part of the newly aligned Congressional districts following the 2010 Census.